"SLOW, quick, quick" is how I wish I felt my progress was going. I had my second private session with Emmanuel earlier this evening. He is an amazing teacher with so much incredible INFORMATION. I just wish that I could do he and the movement more justice and MASTER the technique already. PATIENCE is not an Aires' strong suit however and I have to remind myself that I am a "baby" ballroom dancer.
This rhythmic way of moving, grounding, TWISTING, rotating, stretching, pushing, pulling... you name it... There is a WAR going on and it is all internal. I try to focus on the proper turn out of my feet, then my legs when they transition from straight to bending to prepare to step while keeping the weight of my feet into the floor (over the bunions, OUCH) and then I forget about the rotation of my hips, torso and back without moving my neck and shoulders but then my feet and knees take a BREAK and I switch my focus back again but now my timing gets off...
Being a professional dancer does not mean that learning another style will necessarily come easy. Not that I thought American Rhythm would be easy by any means, I just believed that my comfort level would come on sooner with diligent PRACTICE, EFFORT and time put in. There goes my IMPATIENT Aires again. The dancers we will be among will have had many more years under their belts than my few weeks but I will put in my time...
Visual to imagine: It's TOO LATE to go to the gym so I am in the hallway outside of my bedroom with a side view of myself in the large wall mirror in my room and a front view of myself from the large mirror in Whitney's room. I am in my PJ shorts, dance top and dance heels repeating the Rumba box for almost an hour working up a SWEAT doing a box step! Thank goodness Whitney (my amazing roommate and one of my best friends is up late watching TV so I can make use of both bedroom mirrors. Then my right glute SEIZES so I have to pull out the pilates mat and lay on my tennis ball. GAME OVER for the night.